dumpling
/ˈdʌmp.lɪŋ/
"dumpling" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dumpling” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #43,123 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #43,123
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A ball of dough that is cooked and may have a filling and/or additional ingredients in the dough.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dumpling |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdʌmp.lɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #43,123 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dumpling” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dumpling is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdʌmp.lɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #43,123 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for dumpling, with forms such as "ddumpling", "dmupling", and "dumlping". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "dumping", "duckling", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: A folk word, first attested in c. 1600s, apparently from a Norfolk (East Anglian) dialect, of uncertain origin: * perhaps from some Low German word (compare dümpeln (“bobbing up and down”)), * or from the rare dialectal adjective dump (“lump, of the consist… The correct English form is dumpling, spelled D-U-M-P-L-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1A ball of dough that is cooked and may have a filling and/or additional ingredients in the dough.
- 2A ball of dough that is cooked and may have a filling and/or additional ingredients in the dough.
- 3A term of endearment.
- 4A piece of excrement.
Etymology
A folk word, first attested in c. 1600s, apparently from a Norfolk (East Anglian) dialect, of uncertain origin: * perhaps from some Low German word (compare dümpeln (“bobbing up and down”)), * or from the rare dialectal adjective dump (“lump, of the consistency of dough”) (first attested in the late 1800s), + -ling (diminutive suffix), although dumpling is recorded much earlier. However, compare dumpy (“short and stout”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddumpling,dmupling,dumlping,dummpling,dumpilng,dumplign,dumplingg,dumplinng,dumplling,dumplnig,dumppling,dupmling,udmpling
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dumpling - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "dumpling"?
What does "dumpling" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "dumpling"?
How do you pronounce "dumpling"?
What is the origin of the word "dumpling"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “dumpling”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-U-M-P-L-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdʌmp.lɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “dumping” - see the side-by-side comparison. dumpling vs dumping
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.